In a passenger vehicle, one of the important safety features is a rearview mirror. A rearview mirror is commonly mounted directly onto a windshield so that the driver can easily see objects and traffic behind the vehicle. In addition to facilitating a view toward the rear of the vehicle, it is important for the driver of the vehicle to have a clear view of the road ahead through the windshield. Rearview mirrors are commonly mounted on the windshield using a “mirror button” in a location that will not obscure the driver's view of the road. Often this location is near the centerline of the windshield.
In recent years, various new safety devices and other features have been developed. Some of these devices are ideally mounted in a vehicle against, or near, the windshield. A lane detection warning camera, for example, is typically designed to capture an image of the road ahead and to determine the location of the lanes. A computer determines the vehicle's trajectory to warn the driver if the vehicle is about to leave a lane without signaling. One method of capturing images of the road ahead is to mount a camera behind the windshield near the centerline of the windshield. There is generally limited space, however, to mount objects to a windshield without limiting the driver's view of the road ahead.
Accordingly, it is desirable to mount one or more electronic devices or components near a windshield without significantly obscuring the driver's view of the road. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.